Items tagged with: The $5k Challenge

Once largely ignored by collectors, a whole new generation is now embracing the cars of the 1980s. Shows like Radwood are all the rage, and vehicles from this decade are, for the most part, appreciat...

Making out a Christmas wish list used to be easy. The Sears catalog showed up on the doorstep in November, and from there it was a matter of dog-earing the pages with slot cars, models, and .049 gas-...

Once again, a colorful autumn has descended on the Northeast. While some here dread the inevitable arrival of winter, with its frigid temperatures and potentially ample snow, others see opportunity i...

According to domestic automakers, new car buyers in the United States only care about crossovers, SUVs and trucks. Sedans are an endangered species, as are station wagons. Personal luxury coupes are ...

One of the more frequent complaints we hear about new cars is their lack of interesting paint colors. It’s a valid point, since modern roads seem to be filled with an endless array of white, black, g...

Inexpensive and affordable are often two distinctly different things, particularly when it comes to entry-level collector cars. While it can be tempting to plunk down $5,000 on a well-worn sports or ...

It’s been an odd winter at Hemmings Vermont headquarters. After suffering through a deep freeze in January, it looked like winter was coming to an end ahead of schedule in February – and then came Ma...

What is it that prompts automotive attraction? Why do some of us favor small cars over large cars, or station wagons over coupes, or four-doors over two? Is it genetics? Is it our experience early in...

The dawn of a new year generally brings with it a sense of hope and optimism, particularly when one is past the age where January 1 is spent nursing a hangover. With the winter solstice behind us, th...

The passenger pigeon was once the most common bird in North America, with a population estimated as high as 5 billion, but on September 1, 1914, the last surviving example – a female named Martha – d...

For years, the family car was a sure-fire way to inform the neighbors of a change in status. A tired Rambler may have been tucked away in the garage, out of sight, but the new Buick, Lincoln, or Impe...

Assuming they have sufficient funds, anyone can buy a car. Cash is paid out in exchange for keys and a title, and for many, such a transaction is satisfying enough. For others, however, a car isn’t t...

When it comes to cars, we all have our preferences and peculiarities. Some like big cars with plush suspensions, while others prefer small ones with nimble handling and/or fuel-efficient engines. Sti...

Let’s face it – a dollar, or in this case 5,000 of them, doesn’t buy what it used to. Often, the toughest part of penning the regular $5,000 Challenge series is finding cars from our classifieds with...

When Carroll Shelby was trying to come up with a name for his first high-performance Mustang, legend has it that he asked one of his staff to judge the distance from where they stood to the shop. “Ab...

For some in the hobby, restoring a long-neglected car is more enjoyable than driving and showing it. For others, perhaps with less time or less aptitude, enjoying a driver-quality classic on weekend ...

For many new drivers, their first car is a hand-me-down from a family member. Sometimes they’re free, courtesy of a parent or a dearly departed relative, while other times they’re sold, at a reduced ...

For many new drivers, their first car is a hand-me-down from a family member. Sometimes they’re free, courtesy of a parent or a dearly departed relative, while other times they’re sold, at a reduced ...

The biggest complaint we hear about new cars from mainstream manufacturers these days is this: Thanks to current crash-testing and fuel economy regulations, they all look the same. Perhaps what Hemmi...

The biggest complaint we hear about new cars from mainstream manufacturers these days is this: Thanks to current crash-testing and fuel economy regulations, they all look the same. Perhaps what Hemmi...

Summertime, summertime, sum, sum, summertime. It’ll be here before you know it, and when it is, you might be wishing you had something with a top that goes down. Although it’s a truism of the old-car...

Perhaps it’s because the vernal equinox has passed (in the northern hemisphere, anyway), but a quick glance of our classifieds shows an embarrassment of riches in the $5,000 and under price category....

Though the April 15 deadline for filing individual tax returns is still over a month away, those getting federal or state refunds have probably sent in (or electronically filed) paperwork by now. In ...

There are many reasons why automotive restoration projects don’t always succeed. Sometimes, the hobbyist finds himself over his (or her) head, and frustration overwhelms interest in finishing the car...

In Vermont, we’re still in the grips of winter, but one sure sign of spring is the increasing hours of daylight. That alone is enough to make one optimistic that warmer days (and in Vermont, plenty o...